RGX Life talks to Activision's Global Brand Manager of Super Heroes Daniel Jhung about his title, Super Heroes in video games and what it is involved in developing successful Super Hero titles for Next Gen Consoles.

Recently, I got a chance to speak with Activision’s Global Brand Manager of Super Heroes, Daniel Jhung. He was kind enough to answer questions on his job, Super Hero games and what it is like developing Super Hero titles for the Next Gen systems.

Tony Salvaggio: Hi Daniel, it's good to be talking to you. Activision has been one of my favorite developers for some time. You have an interesting title as Global Brand Manager of Super Heroes, sounds pretty cool. For gamers interested in comics and gaming together, it sounds like this would be sort of a dream job. How did you get to be where you are?

Daniel Jhung:  I've always been a fan of the Marvel Super Heroes, such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the Hulk, mainly from the movies and cartoons growing up. But I never thought I'd be managing games highlighting these iconic heroes.

After college, I worked in consulting and an internet start up before going to Harvard Business School, and going the more traditional marketing route to Clorox, where I helped manage timeless brands like Pine-Sol and Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. But when I moved to LA to be closer to family, I wanted to engage in the entertainment sector and therefore, applied at Activision.

When I got the offer, I specifically requested the Super Heroes group since I thought it would be incredible to work on games showing off the powers of Spider-Man, Wolverine, The Thing, and the other Marvel Heroes. It's been an incredible ride since.

TS:  On a daily basis what goes on in managing heavy hitting Super Hero titles for Activision? What are some of the biggest challenges?

DJ:  There are many key challenges to developing and managing big, super Hero launches. First, it's really talking to and knowing our Super Hero consumer base so we can deliver a gaming experience that our fans really want. Then, it's making sure everyone is pulling in the same direction, including Marvel, Activision, the Developer, and any partners, to deliver the perfect product. Finally, it's coming up with something fresh and innovative every year or every other year so the games don't seem repetitive.

TS:  Activision over the past few years has really ramped up their super hero titles, and created some impressive franchises in gaming (the Spiderman games in particular are exceptional). Are there any games you are particularly proud of?

DJ:  We're always proud to bring new, exciting franchises to the public. Last year, we were able to bring together almost all the epic Marvel super heroes in one videogame in Marvel:  Ultimate Alliance. Not only did this game feature more than 140 heroes and villains from the Marvel universe, but it was the first Super Hero game to come to all Next Gen systems (PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii). Coming to all three Next Gen systems was a Herculean feat by our developer and Studio organization. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance ended up being the #1 videogame the week of our launch and a top 10 title for the calendar year Q4.

TS:  Everyone who is into comics and games usually has a favorite hero that they would like to see in a game or have their own franchise. Do you have one in particular that was your dream character? Are there any characters you would like to see in a game that hasn't made it?

DJ:  I like the characters that have been popularized by Marvel's epic movies, such as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Hulk, and the Fantastic 4. Of course, all of these great characters have seen their way into video games as well. I think out of all of them, the two characters I find most intriguing are Spider-Man and Wolverine. Spidey for the potential in an open-world, web swinging game and Wolverine because we've only scratched the surface of who and what he is in the movies and videogames.

TS: As movies tend to bring more and more comics into the mainstream, how has this changed what characters and worlds you bring to the consoles across the globe?

DJ:  As the movie medium brings more and more comic book characters to life to the mass market consumer base, videogames based on those characters become more viable. I think we'll see a lot more new Super Heroes in videogames in the near future.

TS:  I'm sure there are compromises that have to be made when a character is changed  significantly from their original design and back story in the comic (the movie version of the Green Goblin for example). In games outside of the movie franchise games, how do you balance between the movie version and the more comic book oriented versions?

DJ:  Really depends on who the writer is, but we always try to have some comic book and/or movie authenticity to the games. Normally, a movie or comic book writer is hired to assist with the story. For example, on Marvel:  Ultimate Alliance, C.B. Cebulski from Marvel was brought on to help the Raven team in developing an original story that still had comic book authenticity.

TS:  After doing huge ensemble games such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance, how hard is it to keep things fresh and innovative without resorting to bringing in too many obscure characters to round things out?

DJ:  Activision does a great job of continuing to talk to our consumers, whether via research and/or via our VIP site, to constantly gather fresh ideas and gauge what our consumers wants. There are still a lot of games that our consumers want to see and our developers want to make which have not been done yet. With the Next Gen systems making what was impossible possible, the future is bright for Super Hero games.